There are animals of all species in most parts of the world that are in danger of extinction.
The chief reasons seem to be loss of habitat and hunting by indigenous populations for food and the hunting by poachers for profit to sell animal parts.
The 400 different species of wildlife on Madagascar are severely threatened due to the slash and burn method of agriculture used on the island.
Most of these animals are found nowhere else on earth.
Animals as large as the African elephant and as small as partula snails are threatened.
Other animals that are endangered include sea turtles, jaguars, pandas, tigers, black rhinos, barn owls, lemurs, caimans, and orangutans.
Environmental groups and government agencies have established laws to protect endangered species, but such laws are difficult to enforce, especially in third world countries where pouching is common and wildlife often can destroy the crops of small farmers.
Game parks and wildlife preserves help save some endangered species.
Some groups have developed very creative approaches to increasing populations of certain species.
For example, tamarin monkeys have been bred in zoos in the United States and then released back to their native habitat in Brazil.
Aviculturists who go to extreme lengths in breeding the birds and then feeding the babies have saved cranes.
In Africa conservation programs have been coupled with programs that provide jobs to native peoples through limited hunting and tourism.
The idea is to provide an economic incentive to protect the animals.
